Stay With Me
by Soapiepie
Summary: When Valentine kidnaps Jocelyn. Will she stay with him? Will she be able to forget the past and love him again? What if the Jocelyn who returns at the end of CoB isn't the woman Clary and Luke remember? How will they cope?
1. Chapter 1

He came for her shortly after Clary and Simon left the apartment. So soon after, that Jocelyn was worried he may have encountered them: that was, until she registered the sight of the portal in her living room. Caught unaware, Jocelyn had barely enough time to race to her bedroom to retrieve the two identical vials Ragnor Fell had given her for this exact situation. She hid one in a secret inner pocket of her dressing gown, and placed the other on the kitchen floor beside her. She was as prepared as she could be, given the shortage of time, and resignedly, she leant her head back against the kitchen cupboards, the sink above her. She pulled out her phone and called Clary.

As the phone went to voicemail, his demon puppets crept from the portal, spreading around her apartment. It wouldn't be long before they reached her, but Jocelyn felt her Shadowhunter calm kick in, something she hadn't felt for so long, but was as familiar to her as the back of her hand. It had been sixteen years since she had fled the Shadowhunters; her friends and family, and the only life she knew.

She heard a distant voice calling, "Mum! Mum! Are you alright?"

_Clary!_ Jocelyn thought, realising she had momentarily forgotten her daughter had finally answered the phone. She snapped out of her daze, "Clary! Thank the Angel!" She gasped, a loud crash echoing from somewhere in the house.

"Mum!? I'm coming home right now!"

"NO! Clary, do not come home. Do you hear me? DO NOT COME HOME. Go to Simon's, stay at Simon's and call Luke and tell him Valentine came. Don't you dare come home, Clary, promise me you won't come home! Promise me!"

"I-I promise! But who is Valentine? Mum? Mum! I-I'm calling the police!"

"No! It's too late, and you aren't safe outside. I _need_ you to call Luke, Clary. Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Stay at Simon's, call Luke, do everything he tells you, and STAY PUT. DO YOU HEAR ME, CLARY?"

"Y-Yes Mum," Clary said, but it was faint over the sound of a monstrous scratching sound, as if some_thing_ was ripping down a wall. _It's time_, Jocelyn thought. "I love you, Clary," she said, the calm in her voice surprising. Without waiting for a reply, she hung up, the phone clattering on the tiled floor.

The glow of the portal increased, and she peeked around the kitchen island. He was silhouetted against the pure blue light of the portal, his face and onyx Shadowhunter gear indistinguishable from each other. And yet his strong, muscular build was the same, and Jocelyn knew that his face would look the same as it had sixteen years ago.

Jocelyn picked up the small vial from beside her and unstoppered it, sniffing at the liquid within. She was surprised by its heady scent. A lethargic feeling crept over her, just from a smell of the special draught. Jocelyn lifted it to her lips to drink it, when it was snatched from her hand.

"What's this stuff, Joy?" His lovely, familiar voice questioned chidingly, as if the sixteen years they were apart never existed. Jocelyn shivered at his use of her pet name. _Angel,_ how she despised and longed for it. No one else called her that, not even Luke.

Valentine knelt down in front of her and tutted gently. She watched him, frozen, as he re-stoppered the vial, and slipped it into his pants pocket. _Why wasn't she trying to stop him? _A dozen scenarios ran through her mind that all ended in Valentine on the floor with a kitchen knife pressed to his throat. But Jocelyn dismissed all of them because even after all the pain and suffering he caused her; even after all the time away from him, she still loved him with the same strength as the first day they met.

"It's good I found you in time, Joy," he said. He leant forward until his soft white hair brushed her forehead, and his ebony eyes locked with her emerald ones. He brought his warm hands up to cup her cheeks, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

But underneath his loving demeanour wasa dangerous, persuasive side, and behind the tender look in his eyes was a cunning spark, revealing to Jocelyn — who had learnt to read his often secretive blank facial expressions — that he was here for something she had, something she wouldn't want to give to him. "I've missed you," he purred, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

Reluctantly, she broke away from his consuming eyes, and pried his fingers off her cheeks. She knew how convincing he could be, and how easy it was for her to give in to his gentle coaxing. She looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap. "I've missed you too, Val. But I can't give you the Cup."

He gathered her up in his arms, tucked her head to the crook of his neck and pressed soft kisses into her hair, "Shh, love. Who said I wanted the Cup?" He whispered into her ear.

"You've got that look, like you want something. And I took the Cup from you," she mumbled into his chest.

"No, no, no, Joy, I just want you to come home with me. Back to Idris," Valentine said, moving towards the portal. He felt her shifting, and saw her drinking from a vial—the one he'd tucked into his pants. He cursed, slapping the small flask out of her hand so that it skittered across the room to Jocelyn's bedroom doorway. She had almost finished the potion, and it began affecting her immediately. Jocelyn slumped against him, her sudden dead-weight taking Valentine by surprise, and she almost fell out of his arms. He adjusted her into a more secure position, and looked down at her slack face. As if she felt his gaze, Jocelyn's eyes flickered, and she whispered so softly that Valentine had to bend closer to hear her say; "Sorry, I-"

Valentine sighed; sleep had cut her sentence short. He stepped through the portal, visualising the Morgenstern Manor, his demons slinking behind.


	2. Chapter 2

At first, Jocelyn was aware of nothing save the darkness that enveloped her. Then gradually, as if waking after a century-long sleep, her nerves began to sense her surroundings. Her limbs gained a leaden weight, so much so that they refused to move. Her skin sensed a softness covering her entire body gently, except her face. Something simultaneously rough and soft slid over her cheek repeatedly, a light caress which felt so familiar to Jocelyn, although she could not tell why. And then she heard his voice.

"Ragnor Fell promised me you'd be awake by now, Joy, and I did think I could trust that because it was after spending two hours with me in the dungeons. Do feel free to speak up now, love, before I go punish him for lying to me." His voice was its usual melodious drawl, the only sound which both intensely attracted and repelled her.

Jocelyn forced her eyes open, partly to get a better sense of where she was, and also to save her warlock friend, although, two hours in Valentine's torture rooms meant Ragnor was past saving.

"Oh good! I was awfully tired of waiting. It has almost been a month, Joy! You know I am not a patient man," he murmured, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Jocelyn jerked her head away, making him sigh. "You are probably the only person who defies me and still lives. I have missed your fire, love," he said, turning her head back towards him.

"I'm not your 'love', Valentine," Jocelyn spat hoarsely. Internally, she cursed herself for not sounding as annoyed as she should.

"But we both know you are," he laughed softly, infuriating her further. She couldn't decide whether she was angry at him for interfering with her life, or with herself for still loving him. Either way, she decided, she had to leave as soon as she could.

Jocelyn rolled over in their large plush bed, so that she was faced completely away from him, facing the late morning sunshine which streamed through the master bedroom of the Morgenstern Manor.

"You know," Valentine started conversationally, snaking an arm around her waist, shifting his mouth to her ear, "it was pretty clever of you to have two vials of coma-rendering potion, you surprised me. But even so, Joy, I used the first vial I confiscated from you to track down your poor little Ragnor. He's surprisingly loyal to you, love. Not many last two hours, you realise. I wasn't expecting him to last longer than ten minutes!"

Irate, Jocelyn tore herself from his possessive arms, wriggling out of the warm bed, shouting; "Shut up! Shut up, you horrible, vile, evil bastard! You wonder why I left last time! Watch me, Valentine Morgenstern, WATCH ME DO IT AGAIN!" She stormed around the bed, moving across the plush carpet to the door. But he got there first.

"Get out of my way, you, you…you bastard!" She cried, shoving at his solid chest.

He captured her wrists in his large hands, holding onto them with his left hand and using his right to tilt her chin to meet his gaze.

"Stay with me, Jocelyn Morgenstern," He whispered.

Jocelyn hissed sarcastically, "Give me one good reason, O Husband Mine—" She faltered; shocked by the humility she had heard in his voice and the honesty she found in his eyes. This was the old Valentine leaking through, the old Val she had fallen in love with as a teenager.

"At the very least, stay a while. Eat, drink, wash, then let me escort you back to your flat," He begged, his voice earnest and not coaxing or condescending. A sob burst from within Jocelyn as she slumped against him. She had truly believed this part of Valentine had died years ago.

"Yes. Yes, Val, I—I'll stay a while," She gasped, tears streaming unhindered down her cheeks, as excited as the young, love-struck adult she was when he proposed to her.

"You will!?" He cried, swinging her around in his arms, laughing a hearty, open laugh.

Holding both of her hands, he lead Jocelyn to the door, a wide smile plastered across his face. She didn't want to break the light-hearted mood, but she needed him to understand something;

"Val, Val, wait. I—I can't stay for long, I have a life, a job, Clary—"

"Clarissa can live with us, and Jonathan, we will be united, Jocelyn! The Morgensterns, united!" He said, his excitement growing like a little boy's.

"No! Clary _will not be_ a Shadowhunter, Valentine. I grew her up as a mundane so that she will be safe!"

"Oh! It's too late for that," Valentine said, stepping towards her.

"_What!?_" Jocelyn hissed.

"I've been keeping tabs on her. The day I came for you she had a run-in with a group of them at that mixed species nightclub," He said, calmly.

"But she can't see them!" Jocelyn whispered, distraught, her legs giving way. Valentine caught her and guided her down to the ground, cradling her close to him.

"No, no, no, I have to go and find her, Val," Jocelyn said, struggling.

"Joy, Jocelyn, shhh, listen to me," He said, tightening his grip on her, brushing her fiery hair from her face, "I have men following her at all times, she is safe. Keeping her in the dark about our world is potentially worse for her," He said, rationally, continuing, a pleading tone entering his voice, "She's my daughter too, Joy, you can trust me to keep her safe."

Jocelyn sighed, "Fine, but I want to see her. I don't need to talk to her; I just want to see her soon."

"That can be arranged, love. But right now you need food," He said, lifting her and lying her back down on the bed, "Stay here, I'll get us something," He said, brushing a kiss on her lips, then exiting the room.


End file.
